Arsonists burn Jewish eatery; 2nd attack at Hollywood plaza

A still image from surveillance video shows one of two arsonists tossing… (Surveillance footage.…)

September 7, 2012|By Juan Ortega, Sun Sentinel

HOLLYWOOD — A strip mall where arson destroyed a Judaica store last year became the site of a second fiery attack Friday, when two masked arsonists in hoodies broke into a kosher restaurant and splashed flammable liquid all over the kitchen to make it go up in flames.

Whether Friday's fire at Achla Pita Grill is linked to the blaze that destroyed Holyland Judaica store on Dec. 1, 2011, remains unknown. Each business at the Emerald Center, 5650 Stirling Road, was set afire in the predawn hours, when the businesses were closed, so no one was hurt.

In each case, there were no indisputable signs, such as a spray-painted message, that might indicate a hate crime. Both fires remain under investigation.

"I have no indication at this time that this is a hate crime," Hollywood Police Lt. Nicole Coffin said Friday afternoon. "And there is no indication that the prior incident was a hate crime, either."

Emerald Center is in a heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in west Hollywood.

Ilan Timianski, 46, a native of Israel who owns Achla Pita Grill, on Friday began cleaning up the damage caused by the 3 a.m. fire. He said police told him they initially thought the fire was a hate crime, but then told him perhaps it wasn't.

The arsonists "didn't touch the cashier," Timianski said. "They didn't touch anything. They came to make damage."

The two assailants, who wore hoodies and ski masks to conceal their faces, first unsuccessfully tried to break into Achla Bon Ami, a sushi restaurant adjacent to the pita grill. It also is owned by Timianski.

The arsonists then broke into Achla Pita Grill, where they set fire to the kitchen. One arsonist is seen on surveillance footage lunging away from the fire as it quickly spread. Timianski said the fire fizzled out overnight. It caused moderate damage, including smoke damage, officials said.

Timianski, a married father of five, said it could take a month to reopen Achla Pita Grill. The repairs include fixing or replacing his damaged refrigerators and walk-in freezer, he said.

Surveillance video for December's Judaica fire showed two unidentified men walking in the alley behind the store seconds after the time of the fire. Timianski's restaurants are unaffiliated with Holyland Judaica store, which moved after the fire to a different suite at Emerald Center.

In a December interview, Judaica store owner Michael Katz said the crime at his business was "either random vandalism or it was anti-Semitism." He said, "There was nothing taken. So you have to ask, 'Why focus on a place like this?'"

Many other workers at the strip mall said the fires baffled them. Yossi Gopin, manager of the adjacent Kosher Center supermarket, asked: "What do they benefit from it?"

Anyone with information is asked to call Hollywood police at 954-967-4411 or Broward Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at 954-493-8477.